FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE - PAGE 3

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Russian gay rights advocates called for increased pressure on the International Olympic Committee ahead of the 2014 winter games in Sochi in light of Russia's anti-gay laws, telling a gathering on Wednesday that anti-gay violence is increasing. Russia has come under mounting human rights criticism internationally since passing an anti-gay propaganda law earlier this year that opponents contend curtails the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)

Juan Antonio Samaranch, having overcome a health problem, is expected to run for a new four-year term as president of the International Olympic Committee later this year, an IOC official said Thursday. Samaranch, 68, is the only candidate so far for the election when the 95- member committee meets Aug. 29-Sept. 1. He was hospitalized one week in April and May in his native Barcelona for treatment of a bleeding colon ulcer. The IOC official, who asked to remain anonymous, said about Samaranch's health: "Basically, there are no worries.

With the Olympics returning to their ancient and modern roots next year, the Greeks wanted the medals to mirror more accurately their mythological and Olympic traditions. And they got their way. The redesign of the medal face, approved Monday by the International Olympic Committee, is the first significant change in the front of a Summer Olympic medal since 1928. The 2004 medals will have a winged Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, standing rather than sitting and will be drawn from the Panathaneic Stadium in Athens, where the Olympics were revived in 1896.

Women's sports got a big boost from Salt Lake Olympic organizers Thursday, moving into a near-dead heat with men when it comes to the schedule for 2002. Under a proposal by the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, two-woman bobsled, skeleton and cross-country ski sprints would be added to the Winter Games. SLOC President Mitt Romney said he was confident the plan would be approved by the boards of both his panel and the International Olympic Committee. The additions, long in the pipeline, would push the number of events to 75--seven more than in the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano--and cost the cash-strapped organizers another $650,000, according to Cathy Priestner-Allinger, SLOC's sports director.

Tribune Olympics writer Phillip Hersh opines in Monday's Critics' Corner that big-time college sports must be shut down (Tribune, Feb. 23). I would rather see Mr. Hersh's beat, the Olympics, shut down. He cites college drug scandals. The Olympics are the granddaddy of all drug scandals, from swimming to weightlifting to track and field. He cites point-shaving scandals. How about the pathetic figure skating "point-shaving" story that seemed to hang around forever in 2002 (which Mr. Hersh covered ad nauseum)

As expected, the race for the 2002 Winter Olympics will be among front-runner Salt Lake City and challengers from Canada, Sweden and Switzerland. The International Olympic Committee has pared down the field of nine candidate host cities. The three other finalists are Ostersund, Sweden; Quebec; and Sion, Switzerland. Eliminated from the race were Graz, Austria; Jaca, Spain; Poprad-Tatry, Slovakia; Sochi, Russia; and Tarvisio, Italy. The IOC elects the host city June 16 at its session in Budapest, Hungary.

Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan increased his visibility in the city's 2016 Olympic bid campaign by appearing in a public service announcement that began airing Wednesday on local TV stations. The video was developed using footage of Jordan in a Chicago 2016 athlete endorsement film, "Moments," which was shown to the International Olympic Committee's evaluation commission during its visit in April. "The Olympic spirit -- it's alive in Chicago," Jordan said on that film.

On Feb. 12, 1554, Lady Jane Grey, Queen of England for nine days, was beheaded for treason. In 1689 the Declaration of Rights was signed in England proclaiming William and Mary king and queen. In 1809 Abraham Lincoln was born in Hardin (now Larue) County, Ky. In 1877 Alexander Graham Bell linked Boston and Salem, Mass., by telephone. In 1908 the first round-the-world automobile race began in New York. It ended in Paris that August. In 1910 the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was incorporated.

The message from the International Olympic Committee to China's dictatorship is clear: "Despite the fact that you continue to enslave, brutalize and murder innocent men, women and children, we will treat you as a civilized and respectable country." The low level of protest of China's bid, particularly from the self-proclaimed "humanitarians" who vociferously protest against globalization (i.e., capitalism) in the name of an alleged concern for people, was appalling. It seems that, despite our experience with Nazi Germany and other brutal dictatorships, the world still hasn't learned that sanctioning evil nurtures and emboldens evil, and therefore is evil.

The gloves are still on: When Nancy Loew, 31, of Villa Park won first place in the 106-pound female novice division of the Chicago Golden Gloves this spring, she had really just begun to fight. Nancy was thrilled to be part of the pioneer movement to include women in this annual competition, but now she's ready for something that packs a more global punch. "We're petitioning the International Olympic Committee to accept women's boxing in the 1996 Summer Olympics," said Loew, a black belt karate instructor for the Villa Park Recreation Department and the mother of two. Before the committee will give the nod to women's amateur boxing, according to Loew, there must be at least 10 women from each state qualified to participate, plus a strong interest abroad.